Pneumatic tire

ABSTRACT

A pneumatic tire has a unidirectional tread pattern. On each side of the tire equator, there are a circumferential groove and main oblique grooves extending form the tread edge to the circumferential groove while inclining to the intended tire rotational direction and gradually decreasing its inclination angle with respect to the tire circumferential direction. The inclination angle of the main oblique groove measured at the tread edge is 60 to 120 degrees. The width of the main oblique groove is gradually increased toward the axially outside from the circumferential groove. The width of the circumferential groove becomes narrower at heel-side ends of shoulder blocks than at toe-side ends of the shoulder blocks. The shoulder block is provided with an auxiliary oblique groove extending from the main oblique groove toward the intended tire rotational direction and terminating without reaching to the next main oblique groove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, more particularly toa unidirectional tread pattern capable of improving wet performance andsnowy road performance without sacrificing steering stability.

In order to improve wet performance and snowy road performance of apneumatic tire having a block-type tread pattern, it has been proposedto increase the widths of tread grooves, aiming at increasing thedrainage and self-ejecting snow in the tread grooves. In the techniqueto increase the widths of tread grooves, the ground contacting areadecreases accordingly, therefore, the pattern rigidity decreases and thesteering stability is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apneumatic tire in which the wet performance and snowy road performancecan be improved without sacrificing the steering stability.

According to the present invention, a pneumatic tire comprises

a tread portion provided with a unidirectional tread pattern having anintended tire rotational direction, wherein

the tread portion is provided on each side of the tire equator with acircumferential groove extending continuously in the tirecircumferential direction and a plurality of main oblique grooves eachextending form the tread edge to the circumferential groove, whileinclining to the intended tire rotational direction and graduallydecreasing its inclination angle with respect to the tirecircumferential direction so as to form a row of circumferentiallyarranged shoulder blocks each axially delimited by the circumferentialgroove and circumferentially delimited by the main oblique grooves,

the inclination angle of each of the main oblique grooves measured atthe tread edge is in a range of from 60 to 120 degrees with respect tothe tire circumferential direction,

the width of each of the main oblique grooves is gradually increasedtoward the axially outside from the circumferential groove,

the width of the circumferential groove is narrower at heel-side endpositions of the shoulder blocks than at toe-side end positions of theshoulder blocks, and

the shoulder blocks are provided with auxiliary oblique grooves eachextending from one of the main oblique grooves toward the intended tirerotational direction and terminating at a distance of 2 to 7 mm from thenext main oblique groove.

The pneumatic tire according to the present invention may be furtherprovided with the following features:

the width of the circumferential groove at the toe-side end positions is1.1 to 1.6 times the width of the circumferential groove at theheel-side end positions;

an edge of each of the shoulder blocks adjacent to the circumferentialgroove comprises a circumferential segment extending parallel with thetire circumferential direction from the heel-side end of the edge towardthe toe-side end of the edge, and an oblique segment extending from thetoe-side end of the circumferential segment to the toe-side end of theedge while inclining toward the axially outside;

the intersecting angle of the auxiliary oblique groove with the mainoblique groove is in a range of from 55 to 85 degrees; and

the width of the auxiliary oblique groove is gradually increased fromits closed end toward its open end.

Therefore, utilizing rotation of the tire, the main oblique grooves cansmoothly discharge water or snow entered therein toward the tread edgesand the wet performance and snowy road performance can be improved. Thisis furthered by the width of the main oblique grooves graduallyincreasing toward the axially outside from the circumferential groove.

As the angle of the main oblique grooves at the tread edges isspecifically limited not to decrease the lateral stiffness (rigidity) ofthe tread portion near the tread edges, the wet performance and snowyroad performance can be improved, and steering stability can beprovided. Further, the auxiliary oblique grooves can gather waterexisting between the shoulder block and road surface and lead it to themain oblique grooves effectively by utilizing rotation of the tire.Furthermore, as the heel-side ends of the auxiliary oblique groove areclosed, the leading of the water toward the main oblique grooves can beenhanced, and the decrease in the lateral stiffness of the shoulderblock can be limited, therefore, the steering stability and wetperformance can be improved in a well balanced manner. As the width ofthe circumferential groove is periodically decreased at the heel-sideend positions of the shoulder blocks, water in the circumferentialgroove can be led into the main oblique grooves by utilizing rotation ofthe tire and the wet performance can be improved.

In this application including specification and claims, variousdimensions, positions and the like of the tire refer to those under anormally inflated unloaded condition of the tire unless otherwise noted.

The normally inflated unloaded condition is such that the tire ismounted on a standard wheel rim and inflate to a standard pressure butloaded with no tire load.

The undermentioned normally inflated loaded condition is such that thetire is mounted on the standard wheel rim and inflate to the standardpressure and loaded with the standard tire load.

The standard wheel rim is a wheel rim officially approved or recommendedfor the tire by standards organizations, i.e. JATMA (Japan and Asia),T&RA (North America), ETRTO (Europe), TRAA (Australia), STRO(Scandinavia), ALAPA (Latin America), ITTAC (India) and the like whichare effective in the area where the tire is manufactured, sold or used.The standard pressure and the standard tire load are the maximum airpressure and the maximum tire load for the tire specified by the sameorganization in the Air-pressure/Maximum-load Table or similar list. Forexample, the standard wheel rim is the “standard rim” specified inJATMA, the “Measuring Rim” in ETRTO, the “Design Rim” in TRA or thelike. The standard pressure is the “maximum air pressure” in JATMA, the“Inflation Pressure” in ETRTO, the maximum pressure given in the “TireLoad Limits at Various Cold Inflation Pressures” table in TRA or thelike. The standard load is the “maximum load capacity” in JATMA, the“Load Capacity” in ETRTO, the maximum value given in the above-mentionedtable in TRA or the like. In case of passenger car tires, however, thestandard pressure and standard tire load are uniformly defined by 180kPa and 88% of the maximum tire load, respectively.

The tread edges Te are the axial outermost edges of the groundcontacting patch (camber angle=0) in the normally inflated loadedcondition.

The tread width TW is the axial distance between the tread edges Temeasured in the normally inflated unloaded condition of the tire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a developed partial view of the tread portion of a pneumatictire according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a closeup of a central part of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a developed partial view of the tread portion of a pneumatictire according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The present invention can be suitably applied to a studless tire. In thedrawings, pneumatic tire according to the present invention is astudless radial tire for passenger cars. The tire has a unidirectionaltread pattern having an intended tire rotation direction R. As usual,the intended tire rotation direction R is indicated in the tire sidewallportion (not shown).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, one half of the unidirectionaltread pattern on one side of the tire equator c is circumferentiallyshifted from one half on the other side of the tire equator C otherwisethe pattern is substantially symmetric about the tire equator C.

The tread portion 2 is provided on each side of the tire equator C witha circumferential groove 3 extending continuously in the tirecircumferential direction to axially divide the tread portion 2 into acentral zone 5 between the two circumferential grooves 3, and a pair ofshoulder zones each between the circumferential groove 3 and a treadedge Te. Each of the shoulder zones is provided with a plurality of mainoblique grooves 4 extending from the circumferential groove 3 to thetread edge Te to circumferentially divide the shoulder zone into a row6R of circumferentially arraigned shoulder blocks 6.

As a characteristic of a studless tire, a large number of sipes S aredisposed in the entire area of the tread portion 2 including the centralzone 5 and the shoulder blocks 6. The sipes S in this embodiment arezigzag sipes. Overall each sipe inclines with respect to the tire axialdirection and circumferential direction.

The axially inner edge 3 c of the circumferential groove 3 is formed asa straight edge parallel with the tire circumferential direction inorder to smoothen water flow in the circumferential groove 3 and tomaintain the rigidity of the central zone 5 and thereby to improve thewet performance and steering stability in a well balanced manner.

The axially outer edge 3 t of the circumferential groove 3 is formed asa zigzag edge in order to improve the snowy road performance. Thewidthwise center line 3G of the circumferential groove 3 is accordinglyzigzag.In this application, the width of a groove is measured perpendicularlyto the widthwise center line of the groove unless otherwise noted.

The width of the circumferential groove 3 is varied in the tirecircumferential direction such that the width W1 a measured at theheel-side end positions 6 s of the shoulder blocks 6 is less than thewidth W1 b measured at the toe-side end positions 6 k of the shoulderblocks 6.

Preferably, the width W1 b is set in a range of not less than 1.1 times,more preferably not less than 1.2 times, but not more than 1.6 times,more preferably not more than 1.5 times the width W1 a.Therefore, by utilizing rotation of the tire, water in thecircumferential groove 3 is led to the main oblique grooves 4 to bedischarged from the tread edges.To enhance this effect, the width W1 b is preferably 4 to 7% of thetread width TW.

As to the position of the circumferential groove 3, the axial distanceLa between the tire equator C and the widthwise center line 3G of thecircumferential groove 3 is set in a range of not less than 6%,preferably not less than 8%, but not more than 14%, preferably not morethan 12% of the tread width TW in order to optimize the rigidity balancebetween the central zone and shoulder zone for the steering stability.

In order to smoothly lead the water or snow in the main oblique grooves4 toward the tread edges by utilizing rotation of the tire and therebyto improve the wet performance and snowy road performance, the mainoblique grooves 4 are each curved in an arc which is convex toward theopposite direction to the intended tire rotational direction R so thatthe angle θ1 of the widthwise center line of the main oblique groove 4with respect to the tire circumferential direction is graduallyincreased from the circumferential groove 3 to the tread edge. The angleθ1 is set in a range of not less than 40 degrees, preferably not lessthan 50 degrees, but not more than 140 degrees, preferably not more than130 degrees.

Further, at the tread edge Te, the angle θ1 (or θ1 t) is preferably setin a range of not less than 60 degrees, more preferably not less than 70degrees, still more preferably not less than 80 degrees, but not morethan 120 degrees, more preferably not more than 110 degrees, still morepreferably not more than 100 degrees not to decrease the lateralstiffness (rigidity) of the tread portion near the tread edges Tesubjected to a relatively large ground pressure during cornering.

The width W2 of the main oblique grooves 4 is gradually increased fromthe circumferential groove 3 toward the axially outside.

In order to ensure the drainage of water or snow in the main obliquegrooves 4 toward the tread edge, the width W2 t of the main obliquegroove 4 at the tread edge Te is preferably set in a range of not lessthan 1.1 times, more preferably not less than 1.2 times, but not morethan 2.0 times, more preferably not more than 1.8 times the width W2 cof the main oblique groove 4 at the intersecting point K of the mainoblique grooves 4 with the circumferential groove 3.If the width W2 t is more than 2.0 times the width W2 c, there is apossibility that the rigidity of the shoulder block 6 decreases and thesteering stability is deteriorated.The width W2 is preferably set in a range of not less than 3.5 mm, morepreferably not less than 4.0 mm, but not more than 6.0 mm, morepreferably not more than 5.5 mm.

The axially inner edge 8 of the shoulder block 6 abutting on thecircumferential groove 3 comprises an oblique segment 10 which extendsfrom the toe-side end 10 b of the edge 8 toward the heel-side end 8 a ofthe edge 8 while inclining to the axially inside, and

a circumferential segment 9 which extends parallel with the tirecircumferential direction from the heel-side end 9 b of the obliquesegment 10 toward the heel-side end 8 a of the edge 8 (in this example,to the heel-side end 8 a as shown in FIG. 2). Therefore, the water inthe circumferential groove 3 is smoothly led to the main oblique grooves4 as the tire rotates in the intended rotational direction R.

The shoulder blocks 6 are each provided with an auxiliary oblique groove7 in order to gather water existing between the shoulder blocks 6 androad surface and lead it to the main oblique grooves 4 by utilizingrotation of the tire.

The auxiliary oblique groove 7 extends from the main oblique groove 4 onthe toe side of the block toward the intended tire rotational directionR and terminates without reaching to the main oblique groove 4 on theheel side of the block in order to limit the direction of the water flowto the opposite direction to the tire rotational direction R and therebyto enhance the drainage.

The distance LC of the terminal end of the auxiliary oblique groove 7from the main oblique groove 4 on the heel side is set to be not morethan 7 mm, preferably not more than 6 mm in order to effectively gatherthe water.However, the distance LC is set to be not less than 2 mm, preferably notless than 3 mm in order to prevent an excessive decrease in the rigidityof a part between the end 7 a and the main oblique groove 4 and toprevent this part from being broken during use.Thus, the shoulder block 6 has an outside block part 6A on the treadedge Te side of the auxiliary oblique groove 7 and an inside block part6B on the tire equator C side of the auxiliary oblique groove 7.

The intersecting angle θ2 of the auxiliary oblique groove 7 with themain oblique groove 4 is preferably set to be not more than 85 degrees,more preferably not more than 80 degrees in order to smoothen thedrainage from the auxiliary oblique groove 7 to the main oblique groove4.

However, the intersecting angle θ2 is preferably set to be not less than55 degrees, more preferably not less than 60 degrees not to decrease therigidity of the inside block part 6B between the auxiliary obliquegroove 7 and the main oblique groove 4 and thereby to preventdeterioration of the steering stability.

It is preferable that the auxiliary oblique groove 7 is inclined to thetread edge Te from its closed end 7 a toward its open end connected tothe main oblique groove 4 in order to enhance the drainage from theauxiliary oblique groove 7 to the main oblique groove 4 and not todecrease the rigidity of the inside block part 6B by preventing thewidth of the inside block part 6B from decreasing.

It is preferable that the width W3 of the auxiliary oblique groove 7 isgradually increased from its heel-side end toward its toe-side end toassure the rigidity of the shoulder block 6 and the limitation of thedirection of the water flow to the counter tire rational direction.

The ratio W3 b/W3 a of the width W3 b at the toe-side end to the widthW3 a at the heel-side end is preferably set in a range of not less than1.2, more preferably not less than 1.3, but not more than 1.7, morepreferably not more than 1.6.

The width W3 is preferably in a range of not less than 3.5 mm, morepreferably not less than 4.0 mm, but not more than 7.5 mm, morepreferably not more than 7.0 mm.

The distance Lu from the tread edge Te to the heel-side end 7G1 of thewidthwise center line 7G of the auxiliary oblique groove 7 is preferablyset in a range of from 50 to 80% of the axial maximum width W6 of theshoulder block 6 in order to provide rigidity for the outside block part6A subjected to a relatively large lateral force during cornering and atthe same time to surely discharge water existing between the roadsurface and the inside block part 6B subjected to a relatively largeground pressure during straight running.

To ensure these effects it is preferred that the depth of thecircumferential groove 3 is 7.0 to 8.5 mm and the depth of the mainoblique grooves 4 is 3.6 to 8.0 mm. And the depth of the auxiliaryoblique groove 7 is not less than 80%, preferably not less than 90%, butnot more than 120%, preferably not more than 110% of the depth of themain oblique groove 4.

In the central zone 5, first and second center oblique grooves 13 and 14are alternately arranged in the tire circumferential direction to extendfrom one of the circumferential grooves 3 to the other while incliningwith respect to the tire axial direction to one circumferentialdirection and the other circumferential direction alternately. Forexample in FIG. 2, the first center oblique grooves 13 extend frombottom left to top right, and the second center oblique grooves 14extend from top left to bottom right.

The toe-side end 14 b of the second center oblique groove 14 and theheel-side end 13 a of the first center oblique groove 13 are disposedadjacently to each other and opened to the leftward circumferentialgroove 3.

The toe-side end 13 b of the first center oblique groove 13 and theheel-side end 14 a of the second center oblique groove 14 are disposedadjacently to each other and opened to the rightward circumferentialgroove 3.Therefore, the central zone 5 is divided into a row 5A ofcircumferentially arranged triangular blocks.

In this embodiment, the widths of the first and second center obliquegrooves 13 and 14 are gradually increased from the heel-side ends 13 aand 14 a to toe-side ends 13 b and 14 b. The toe-side ends 13 b and 14 b(open ends) of the first and second center oblique grooves 13 and 14 arerespectively positioned on extensions of the widthwise center lines 4Gof the main oblique grooves 4 in order that water existing between thecentral zone 5 and road surface is effectively led into the main obliquegrooves 4 from the center oblique grooves 13 and 14 and thereby toimprove the wet performance.

To enhance this effect, the widths W4 and W5 of the first and secondcenter oblique grooves 13 and 14 at the toe-side ends 13 b and 14 b arepreferably set to be not less than 55%, more preferably not less than65% of the width W2 c of the main oblique groove 4. However, the widthsW4 and W5 are preferably not more than 95%, more preferably not morethan 85% of the width W2 c in order to prevent the rigidity of thecentral zone 5 from becoming insufficient.

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the above-mentioned pneumatic tire whichis another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, inorder to effectively lead the water flow occurring in thecircumferential groove 3 (water flow from the heel-side to the toe-side)to the main oblique grooves 4, a guiding protrusion T is formed at theheel-side end 8 a of the axially inner edge 8 of each shoulder block 6.The protrusion T has a triangular shape. As a result, in comparison withthe former embodiment, the heel-side edge 4 e of the shoulder block 6(or toe-side edge of the main oblique groove 4) extends more into thecircumferential groove 3 and the axially inner edge 8 of the block 6further includes an oblique segment 15 which connects between theaxially inner end 4 e 1 of the edge 4 e and the above-mentionedcircumferential segment 9 while inclining with respect to the tirecircumferential direction.

Comparison Tests

Based on the tread pattern shown in FIG. 1, pneumatic tires of size195/65R15 (rim size 15×6 JJ) having specifications shown in Table 1 wereprepared and tested.

Common specifications are as follows.

tread width TW: 178 mm

<Circumferential Groove>

width W1 a: 4.5% of TW

depth: 8.5 mm

position La: 9 to 11% of TW

<Main Oblique Grooves>

width W2 c: 2.8% of TW

depth: 4.5 to 8.5 mm

<Auxiliary Oblique Grooves>

width W3 a: 3.1% of TW

depth: 8.5 mm

position Lu: 70% of width W6

<First And Second Center Oblique Grooves>

widths W4 and W5: 70% W2 c

depth: 3.5 mm

<Sipes>

width: 0.8 to 1.0 mm

depth: 2.3 to 7.0 mm

<Snowy Road Performance and Steering Stability on Dry Road>

Test tires were attached to a 2000 cc rear-wheel-drive car and run on asnowy road and dry asphalt road in a tire test course. The test driverevaluated the snowy road performance and steering stability on dry roadbased on the steering response, rigid feeling, grip and the like. (Tirepressure: 200 kPa) The results are indicated in Table 1 by an indexbased on Comparative example tire Ref.1 being 100, wherein the largervalue is better.

<Wet Performance (Lateral Aquaplaning) Test>

The above-mentioned test car was run along a 100 meter radius circle ona wet asphalt road provided with a 10 mm depth 20 m long water pool, andthe lateral acceleration (lateral G) during running in the water poolwas measured at the front wheels, gradually increasing the speedentering into the water pool, to obtain the average for the speed rangeof from 55 to 80 km/h. The results are indicated in Table 1 by an indexbased on comparative example tire Ref.1 being 100, wherein the largervalue is better.

From the test results, it was confirmed that Embodiment tires can beimproved in the various performances when compared with comparativeexample tires.

TABLE 1 Tire Ref. 1 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ref. 2 Ref. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 treadpattern (FIG. No.) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 angle θ1t (deg.) at tread edge 55 9060 80 90 90 90 90 distance Lc (mm) 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 0 1 2 6 width ratioW1b/W1a 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 intersecting angle θ2 (deg.) 7070 70 70 70 70 70 70 width ratio W3b/W3a 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4snowy road performance 100 110 105 110 104 103 112 108 wet performance100 110 105 110 101 104 110 108 steering stability 100 120 110 114 96 97104 122 Tire Ex. 6 Ref. 4 Ref. 5 Ref. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 8 Ex. 9 Ex. 10 treadpattern (FIG. No.) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 angle θ1t (deg.) at tread edge 90 9090 90 90 90 90 90 distance Lc (mm) 7 8 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 widthratio W1b/W1a 1.4 1.4 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.6 1.7 1.4 intersecting angle θ2(deg.) 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 50 width ratio W3b/W3a 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.41.4 1.4 1.4 snowy road performance 106 100 99 101 107 110 110 110 wetperformance 106 96 96 98 108 111 112 112 steering stability 122 122 120120 120 110 106 116 Tire Ex. 11 Ex. 12 Ex. 13 Ex. 14 Ex. 15 Ex. 16 Ex.17 Ex. 18 tread pattern (FIG. No.) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 angle θ1t (deg.) attread edge 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 distance Lc (mm) 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.53.5 3.5 3.5 width ratio W1b/W1a 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4intersecting angle θ2 (deg.) 55 85 88 70 70 70 70 70 width ratio W3b/W3a1.4 1.4 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.7 1.8 1.4 snowy road performance 110 108 106 108110 110 110 111 wet performance 110 106 104 104 108 111 110 114 steeringstability 117 120 120 118 120 116 115 118

1. A pneumatic tire comprising a tread portion provided with a unidirectional tread pattern having an intended tire rotational direction, wherein said tread portion is provided on each side of the tire equator with: a circumferential groove extending continuously in the tire circumferential direction; and a plurality of main oblique grooves each extending form the tread edge to said circumferential groove, while inclining to the intended tire rotational direction and gradually decreasing its inclination angle with respect to the tire circumferential direction so as to form a row of circumferentially arranged shoulder blocks each axially delimited by the circumferential groove and circumferentially delimited by the main oblique grooves, the inclination angle of each said main oblique groove measured at the tread edge is in a range of from 60 to 120 degrees with respect to the tire circumferential direction, the width of each said main oblique groove is gradually increased toward the axially outside from the circumferential groove, the width of the circumferential groove is narrower at heel-side end positions of the shoulder blocks than at toe-side end positions of the shoulder blocks, and said shoulder blocks are provided with auxiliary oblique grooves each extending from one of said main oblique grooves toward the intended tire rotational direction and terminating at a distance of 2 to 7 mm from the next main oblique groove.
 2. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the width of the circumferential groove at the toe-side end positions is 1.1 to 1.6 times the width of the circumferential groove at the heel-side end positions.
 3. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an axially inner edge of each said shoulder block adjacent to the circumferential groove comprises a circumferential segment extending parallel with the tire circumferential direction toward the toe-side end of said axially inner edge, and an oblique segment extending from the toe-side end of the circumferential segment to the toe-side end of said axially inner edge, while inclining toward the axially outside.
 4. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the intersecting angle of the auxiliary oblique groove with the main oblique groove is in a range of from 55 to 85 degrees.
 5. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the width of the auxiliary oblique groove is gradually increased from its closed end toward its open end connected to said one of the main oblique grooves. 